8 Months with Carter

May 28th-June 27th

Posing for an 8 Month picture with Mommy!

Carter's 8th month brought lots more mobility and fun for our little guy.  I know it's so cliche, but it is going SO fast!

We started Carter's 8th month with his first ever ear infection.  When he woke up with a 101.4 fever and wasn't eating much, I knew something was up!  He never even ran a fever with RSV, so I immediately scheduled an appointment with the pediatrician.  He said both ears were red, but that I caught it early....mom points for me!  He was prescribed some antibiotics and it cleared up in no time!  Carter hated the antibiotic though, so that was fun!  

The day before the ear infection...no sign of sickness here!

Carter took his first tumble to the floor this month too.  I was getting ready to go shopping with my mom & sisters and I had him in his bouncy seat (with only one leg buckled in...whoops!) while I straightened my hair.  Well, my little man decided to pull himself up to sitting and then took a nose dive into the floor!  He was very whiny after that and demanded to be held (not that I blame him) so mommy just threw her hair into a ponytail and loved on her little man!  We haven't used the bouncy seat since then...maybe it's time to retire it until the next baby?

Shopping with Aunt Claire after the fall

My little guy FINALLY started sitting up on his own more this month.  We got him a little tool bench toy at a consignment sale and it has really encouraged him to sit up to play with it.  This has made bath time much more enjoyable for the both of us, as he can sit up and play in the tub a bit more.  Before, all he wanted to do was lay back or stand up, so we shortened bath time pretty much every night.  Now we can take our time and play! 

Cute boy sitting up on his own

Carter also started really rocking on all fours at the beginning of the month...in crawling position, but not ready to take off just yet!  But then in the middle of the month, he started doing this leap frog looking crawl where he would move his hands out in front of him then push his legs out straight and move a bit forwards.  By the end of the month, though, at 8 months, Carter has got the real crawl down pat.  It's not always pretty, but he can get where he wants to go!  I am happy he is growing and able to do as he pleases, but my gosh, can time just please slow down a bit?!  I'm going to be marrying him off before I know it if time keeps going at this rate!

I know this is grainy & dark...but I LOVE it! :)

Speaking of leaving, Carter picked up on waving this month too!  He doesn't do it all the time, but it is so sweet when he does.  It's amazing to see him picking up on all of the things we do.

Waving bye to go on a golf cart ride with his Daddy & Grandpa's!

He said his first word, "Mama", on daddy's birthday...talk about making his mommy proud!  I had given him a bath and was rubbing him down with lotion and he just suddenly said it.  I looked at Brent with disbelief, but Carter made sure we heard him by repeating it over and over! :)  However, the little toot has stopped saying it and has replaced it with "Dada" ALL.THE.TIME.  Seriously, he never stops saying it.  But, it makes his daddy's face light up every time  so it's worth it!

We took Carter for his first real swim this month too.  He takes after his momma...he's a water baby!  He doesn't mind being splashed or if the water is a little cool, he just wants in the pool!

My water baby

As far as sleep, he is still doing great!  Sleeping from about 8/8:30pm-6am.  Sometimes he wakes up a bit during the night, but puts himself back to sleep, no problem.  Daddy has taken over the night time bottle for the past month or so, so mommy has more time to clean up supper and wash bottles, and it has really turned into their special time together since daddy has been working so much.  Naps are a struggle though, as little man hates to miss a thing!  I can usually get him to nap at home in the swing from around 10am-noon though.  I wish we could do crib naps, but he just won't be still in there enough to fall asleep during the day! But when we are out and about, naps are so hard!  We need to get that figured out!

Happy boy

Carter has been eating so well these days.  He has tried more fruits this month...bananas, peaches, and apples.  We moved up to the level 2 baby foods since he is always hungry still after the smaller level 1 packs.  Plus, we introduced Puffs and pieces of banana.  At first, he wasn't sure about them.  But by the end of the month, he acts like he would rather feed himself real food!  So I think by next month, we will probably be feeding him mainly real food as we will get to introduce yogurt, cheese, pasta, bread, etc. from our own plates!  I bought some veggies that steam in the bag in the microwave (some peas and mixed veggies) that I was planning to puree for him, but now I'm thinking I will just let him eat them as they are!  I have finally found a sippy cup he loves to drink his juice from too, so that has helped him start drinking his juice more regularly.

Sucking down some juice

As far as clothes/diapers go, we have moved up to the size 3 diaper and sizes 9 months or 6-9/6-12 months.  I have found that clothing is so much easier during the summer for babies!  We have been putting him to bed in only a diaper most nights, and I love to let him play in just his diaper or a onesie only when we are around the house.  I love seeing and feeling his soft little baby skin!  Plus, the laundry has been so much less work these days!

Love cuddling my sweet boy in just his diaper!